Chapter 11 - THE DIGITAL MANHUNT
Relief washed over me so powerfully my knees nearly buckled.
He trusted me.
Despite the circumstantial evidence pointing directly at the new hire,
Alexander knew my integrity was uncompromised.
“What do you need me to do?
” I asked immediately,
pushing all fear aside.
“I need you to trace the server access logs from Friday night,
” Alexander instructed,
his voice dropping into a focused,
conspiratorial register.
“Every encrypted file leaves a digital fingerprint.
Our internal IT security team is locked out because the breach used my master override key.
Only one other person in this entire building has administrative override access.
”
“Who?
” I breathed.
“Marcus Vance,
” Alexander said grimly.
“Preston’s cousin.
”
The pieces clicked together in my mind with terrifying clarity.
Preston had lost his firm's potential contract with Sterling Capital because of Alexander's public humiliation at the gala.
Marcus had a motive for revenge.
“He used my workstation credentials while I was at the gala with you,
didn't he?
” I realized aloud.
“He knew you left your terminal logged in when we departed for the museum,
” Alexander confirmed,
pulling a secure encrypted tablet from his desk drawer.
“I need definitive proof before I can legally terminate him and hand the case over to federal prosecutors for industrial espionage.
”
“Give me twenty minutes,
” I said,
rolling up my sleeves with grim determination.
I marched back into my office,
sat down at my workstation,
and bypassed the standard user interface.
Using my advanced data analytics background,
I wrote a custom Python script to scrape the shadow server logs for unauthorized IP addresses accessing the European portfolio files during Friday night's gala.
Lines of green code scrolled frantically across my monitor.
My fingers flew over the mechanical keyboard like lightning.
Ten minutes later,
the script executed its final query.
A single external IP address matched with an internal workstation login originating from the third-floor compliance terminal—Marcus's station.
Not only had he accessed the files using my credentials,
but he had exported them directly to an encrypted proton mail account linked to Vanguard Holdings.
I grabbed my tablet,
stood up,
and marched straight back into Alexander's office.
“Got him,
May you like
” I said,
placing the tablet squarely on his desk.
